Packaging box for storing and dispensing z-folded precut wiping material with a horizontal outlet

ABSTRACT

Packaging box for storing and dispensing pre-cut wipe materials of the type having an ultimately parallelepiped shape and made from a one-piece body having a plurality of flanks that are articulated relative to each other by fold lines is distinctive in that the body ( 1 ) comprises a front face ( 1.1 ) with lateral flanks ( 1   b ) consisting of two parts ( 1   b   1 - 1   b   2 ) in order to constitute a flap after folding, the folded part being offset in height relative to the upper end of the part ( 1   b   1 ), the outer lateral flanks being higher than the front and rear flanks, and in that the front wall ( 1   a ) and the perfectly flat upper flank ( 1   c ) are designed along their fold line with a rectangular cut-out ( 1   d ) that defines an end cut at 45° and in that the front wall has, with the bottom face ( 1   d ), a second rectangular cut-out ( 1   r ) defining an end cut at 45°, said cut ends making it possible to grasp the strip of material upstream from tabs forming a limit stop ( 1   n ) for separating pieces of material.

The invention relates to the technical field of dispensing machines forwipe materials of the hand wipe, general-purpose wipe, tissues andsimilar types of products.

The invention also relates to the packaging of wipe and hygienematerials.

The use of cardboard to make boxes in which wipe and/or hygienematerials are placed is known; these boxes are designed with a cut-outwhich makes it possible to grasp pieces of strips of material in apre-cut, folded or interleaved state.

The problem encountered is the extremely inadequate capacity of thistype of pack in terms of the volume and quantity of materials to bedispensed. In addition, such packs have parallelepiped configurationsand stacking several packs is hardly practical because access to theopening for removing material is prevented or, often, the packs aremisaligned relative to each other.

The Applicant's approach was therefore to attempt to devise a new designfor packaging boxes which enables the user to easily grasp a more amplevolume of wipe materials and also ensures correct arrangement of thepackaging boxes relative to each other.

The solution devised by the Applicant fulfils these various objectivesand is simple to implement.

According to a first aspect of the invention, the packaging box forstoring and dispensing pre-cut wipe materials of the type having anultimately parallelepiped shape is made from a one-piece body having aplurality of flanks that are articulated relative to each other by foldlines and is distinctive in that the body comprises a front face withtwo-part lateral flanks in order to constitute a flap after folding, thefolded part being offset in height relative to the upper end of thepart, the outer lateral flanks being higher than the front and rearflanks, and in that the front wall and the perfectly flat upper flankare designed along their fold line with a rectangular cut-out thatdefines an end cut at 45° and in that the front wall has, with thebottom face, a second rectangular cut-out defining an end cut at 45°,said cut ends making it possible to grasp the strip of material upstreamfrom tabs forming a limit stop for separating pieces of material placedon an upper panel of the box.

These aspects and others will become apparent from the followingdescription.

The object of the present invention is described, merely by way ofexample, in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a three-quarter perspective view showing two stacked packagingboxes according to the invention.

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 where both boxes are placed in astorage cabinet.

FIG. 3 is a three-quarter perspective view of the packaging boxaccording to the invention in its unfolded state.

FIGS. 4 and 5 are views of the packaging box as in FIG. 3 showingsuccessive folding operations.

FIG. 6 is a view of the packaging box in its folded state.

In order that the object of the invention may more readily beunderstood, the following description is given, merely by way ofexample, reference being made to the accompanying drawings.

The packaging box according to the invention is referred to in itsentirety by (B). It has an ultimately parallelepiped shape and ispreferably made of cardboard. It is capable of internally accommodatinga wipe material (M) in a pre-cut accordion-pleated state which isintended to emerge from each of the boxes by the user pulling andtearing off a piece.

The box thus produced comprises a one-piece body made of cardboardhaving a plurality of flanks that are articulated relative to each otherby fold lines.

The body (1) comprises a front face (1.1) having a square or rectangularconfiguration on which there is a plurality of flanks. Lateral flanks (1b) consisting of two parts (1 b 1-1 b 2) are designed to form thelateral walls of the pack after they have been folded one over theother. There is a space between said parts (1 b 1-1 b 2) after foldingwhich makes it possible to insert tabs (1 c 1) that form a sector of acircle and are located at the ends of upper flank (1 c) which, afterfolding, constitutes a horizontal plane.

Also and according to one important feature of the invention, foldedpart (1 b 2) is slightly offset in height relative to the upper end ofpart (1 b 1). A space of the order of 2 to 5 mm is left in order tosupport the weight of the box or boxes above without exerting pressureon the surfaces over which the strip of material moves. The lateralwalls are thus higher than the front and rear walls of the packagingbox.

Between front wall (1 a) and flank (1 c) there is, along the fold linein the central part, a rectangular cut-out (1 d), the ends of which areconfigured as slanting ends. Thus, when flank (1 c) is foldedhorizontally, this defines an end (1 e) that is cut at 45° in order tomake it easier to grasp the material upstream from tabs (1 n) forseparating pieces placed on upper flat panel (1 m) of the box.

The front flank also has slits (1 f) that are pre-cut on three sides andmake it possible to fix elastic-type quick-release fasteners (3). Thelower part of the flank has an inspection and viewing opening in orderto check the level of the available stack of material in the box.

To ensure retention of the lateral flaps, there are slots (1 f) close tothe fold lines of the front wall with the lateral walls in order toallow insertion of the ends of the folded parts (1 b 2).

The lower part of flank (1 a) continues as bottom wall (1 g) whichitself extends as return wall (1 h) designed to close the pack. Thiswall (1 h) extends as panel (1 m), the ends of which have two tabs (1 n)designed to secure the above-mentioned elastic fasteners. This perfectlyflat panel (1 m) sits on top of perfectly flat horizontal upper flank (1c) of the pack leaving room for the strip of material from inside thebox to pass through. These two surfaces (1 m) and (1 c) between whichthe wipe material passes are perfectly flat and slightly elasticallycompressed by fasteners (3) in order to discourage and prevent anycreasing until the material emerges where the pieces are separated bytabs (1 n).

It should be noted that the slightest creasing makes it impossible toseparate pieces of strips of materials. The solution provided by the twoperfectly flat, smooth and slightly compressed surfaces (1 m) and (1 c)makes creasing completely impossible. Tabs (1 n) are located very close(approximately 2 to 5 mm) to where the perforated line of the materialemerges. Thus, when the inner edges of tabs (1 n) are in contact withthe edges of the strip of wipe material, adjacent pieces of the strip ofmaterial are separated as the perforated line passes through. Also,elastic fasteners (3) on the tabs for separating the pieces absorb thedifference in thickness of the cutting points, which allows morematerial to pass through.

Tabs (1 n) also have notches or slots (1 p) which make it possible tosecure elastic fasteners (3).

Also, in the lower part of the box between the front face and the lowerface, a similar opening is provided to facilitate grasping of thematerial upstream from the separation tabs. This opening is defined bycut-out (1 r) which has a rectangular configuration with slanting ends.At the back, the box may have openings (1 s) through which any levers ina frame which accommodates one or more boxes may pass.

Thus, the box as produced makes it possible to stack several boxes oneon top of the other. As it emerges, the strip of material is deformed bypassing through the relatively confined space in the outlet between theabove-mentioned lateral tabs. It should also be noted that the upperpanel of the box has an end edge with a curved configuration in order tofacilitate movement and guiding of the strip of material. The panel isperfectly flat.

The packaging box is disposable once the wipe material has beenconsumed.

The advantages are readily apparent from the description. Features suchas the simplicity of this pack, its practical usefulness, easy access bythe user in order to grasp the emerging strip of material and stackingwhich allows tidy storage and makes it possible to offer the user atleast two boxes, thereby providing a greater volume of material, are allemphasised.

The above-mentioned packaging boxes can be stored one on top of theother in a container (4) which includes, for two boxes, two windows (4a-4 b) designed to be opposite outlets for strips of materials. Theboxes rest on laterally protruding parts so as not to exert any force onwalls (1 m) and (1 c). One of the advantages of the container is thefact that the packaging box located underneath and placed at anappropriate height for dispensing will be emptied first. There willstill be wipe material left in the box located underneath. When the boxunderneath has been removed, the box above will drop down due to gravityand make it possible to install another box.

Outside container (4), the boxes on their own can dispense pieces ofmaterial.

1. Packaging box for storing and dispensing pre-cut wipe materials ofthe type having an ultimately parallelepiped shape and made from aone-piece body having a plurality of flanks that are articulatedrelative to each other by fold lines is distinctive in that the body (1)comprises a front face (1.1) with lateral flanks (1 b) consisting of twoparts (1 b 1-1 b 2) in order to constitute a flap after folding, thefolded part being offset in height relative to the upper end of the part(1 b 1), the outer lateral flanks being higher than the front and rearflanks, and in that the front wall (1 a) and the perfectly flat upperflank (1 c) are designed along their fold line with a rectangularcut-out (1 d) that defines an end cut at 45° and in that the front wallhas, with the bottom face (1 d), a second rectangular cut-out (1 r)defining an end cut at 45°, said cut ends making it possible to graspthe strip of material upstream from tabs forming a limit stop (1 n) forseparating pieces of material.
 2. Packaging box as claimed in claim 1,characterised in that front wall (1 a) continues as a bottom face (1 g)which itself extends as return wall (1 h) designed to close the pack,said wall (1 h) extending as perfectly plat panel (1 m), the ends ofwhich have two tabs (1 n) designed to secure elastic fasteners (3) whichare positioned in slits cut out on the front flank of the box. 3.Packaging box as claimed in claim 2, characterised in that the elasticfasteners on the two tabs (1 n) for separating the pieces absorb thedifference in thickness of the cutting points, which allows morematerial to pass through.